Mariners fight, freeze in Valley Forge, lose to Dodgers 6-4

Allan Henry-Imagn Images Baseball, loosely, follows the old rhythms of war. A quiet winter, a slow spring spent mustering forces and gathering supplies, a summer of maneuvers and skirmishes, before a final climactic engagement in the fall before winter sets in yet again. Both contests are defined by the turning of the seasons.

So here we are, at the end of another winter while the Mariners are down in their training grounds preparing for another campaign. And they’re doing so with a force that is in much worse shape than both the fans and the players wanted. And not for the first time

As the winter of 177-78 approached, the Continental Army under George Washington was in a bad shape. The…